Christians set free in Muslim countries

On Saturday, 8 September 2012, Iran acquits Christian pastor charged with apostasy, while a Pakistani girl accused of blaspheming Islam was released from Jail. Today was a good day for two Christians.

From Breitbart News: An Iranian pastor sentenced to death for his Christian beliefs was released from custody during a Saturday court proceeding, according to an international religious freedom organization. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that a court acquitted Yousef Nadarkhani of the Church of Iran of apostasy charges: According to reliable sources, during court proceedings that took place today, Pastor Nadarkhani was acquitted of apostasy, but found guilty of evangelizing Muslims. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the latter charge, but released because he had already served this time. This development, if confirmed, will be a miraculous turn in a story of religious oppression under fundamentalist Islamic law. Nadarkhani was sentenced to death in 2010, and Iran's own Supreme Court upheld the verdict in 2011.

From the Voice of America News: Pakistani officials say a mentally-challenged Christian girl accused of blaspheming Islam has been released from jail. Rimsha Masih's release Saturday comes a day after a judge granted her bail, in a case that has drawn international outrage. Rimsha, a 14 year old girl, spent the last three weeks in jail near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, after neighbors accused her of burning pages from the Quran. Witnesses say an armored vehicle brought her Saturday from the jail in the city of Rawalpindi to a waiting helicopter. It is unclear where she was taken, but Pakistan's minister for national harmony told the French news agency (AFP) she was flown to a safe place where she was reunited with her family. Muslim-majority Pakistan has some of the world's toughest penalties against blasphemy. Anyone found guilty of insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad faces the death penalty.